


Rough Nights

by RobinPlaysTrumpet15



Series: Obi-Wan "The Therapist" Kenobi and How He Changed Everything [24]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, CT-7567 | Rex Needs a Hug, Gen, Light Swearing, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Panic Attacks, Post-Episode: s04e13 Escape From Kadavo, Referenced Suicidal Thoughts, Rex is having a rough time, Self-Doubt, Self-Esteem Issues, Vomiting, do not copy to another site
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:14:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28110732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobinPlaysTrumpet15/pseuds/RobinPlaysTrumpet15
Summary: Some nights, you can sleep right through and wake up fine in the morning. Others... others you just have to get through.
Relationships: CC-2224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi, Obi-Wan Kenobi & CT-7567 | Rex
Series: Obi-Wan "The Therapist" Kenobi and How He Changed Everything [24]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1584874
Comments: 18
Kudos: 292





	Rough Nights

**Author's Note:**

> This fic has taken me... so long to write. It had caused a hundred troubles and a half, and now it's finally done. Hopefully you like it, and I hope it lives up to your expectations.

Cody trudges his way into his quarters. All his limbs must be made of lead, he’s sure. After a week in their campaign without Obi-Wan, and then hours of just making sure the troops he’d returned with settled in well, he’s exhausted. He’s definitely ready to just strip himself down to his underclothes, collapse on his bed, and pass out.

At this point, he didn’t even care if he slept through his morning alarm.

Or, he _didn’t_ care. Until he sat heavily into the chair by his desk and found the time to check his non-emergency coms. That, at least, had to happen before sleep.

He finds a couple messages from his batchmates, checking in and keeping him up to date on the latest news and gossip. There are no messages from Rex or Obi-Wan, though, which sends a twinge of disappointment through him. He shakes that off easily. They were on a mission. A tough one, too. It stood to reason they hadn’t had time to message him yet. Not to mention, he himself had been busy in a ground campaign. Taking non-emergency comms wasn’t something he would have had the time for.

At the very bottom of the list, pushed there by his batchmates’ messages, is a notification from Appo.

That in and of itself is a little odd. He gets on with Appo well enough, but despite being batchmates, they don’t talk much outside of working together when the situation calls for it.

The message itself is very clear and formal.

**From CC-1119:**  
_We have General Kenobi with us. He’s staying with Rex while he’s down. See the attachment for details._

Cody frowns down at the words. That doesn’t make any sense. Is it Obi-Wan who’s down, or Rex? _Why_ are they down?

He taps into the attachment, wondering what he’s about to find in there. Documents and forms that don’t have names are typically few and far between. It usually means they contain some sensitive information that should not, under any circumstances, fall into the wrong hands.

Cody’s eyes go wide, faced with a 72 hour psych hold form. For Rex.

“Kriffing hells,” he mutters to himself, scanning the document for the most important information.

Obi-Wan had filled it out. That isn’t a bad thing, but it does say something rather important. Either Rex is so bad that Obi-Wan had picked up on it on his own, or Rex has enough faith in the man to have actually told him. Cody can’t decide which it was more likely to be. As it stands, outside of the 212th, telling _any_ natborns about mental health stuff is a touchy subject for almost any _vod_. But on the other hand, Obi-Wan has proven himself a thousand times over just in the past few months that he is absolutely someone they can go to for help. Even the other battalions can see it.

The first option isn’t good, and means Rex is seriously in a bad way. The second option is… actually a good thing. Even Rex, who has always had trouble reaching out and asking for help, knows Obi-Wan. He’s seen the therapy, knows the changes, is _close_ with the Jedi. And whatever the two of them went through together, well…

Sometimes Cody still finds himself struggling with the idea of opening up to others about these types of problems. He knows it’s stupid, especially in regards to Obi-Wan. He just can’t help it, though.

He heaves a deep sigh and pushes his hands through his hair. The feeling of grit, dirt, and sweat both on his hands and in his hair makes him grimace. He’s disgusting.

With a final glance at his comm, he stands and goes about the process of undressing and showering in the ‘fresher. As much as he wants to comm his Jedi and _vod’ika_ right that moment, he knows that as it is, he won’t be of much help to them. He needs to sleep and rest first, at least for a few hours. They have each other. That situation will hold until morning.

He hopes.

*

 _”This was a mistake…”_ Rex thinks as he lies awake. He’d fallen asleep for a little while, but that hadn’t lasted long. The dreams hadn’t been so bad this time — not with Obi-Wan wrapped up in the bunk with him — but they were sure weird. He can’t honestly say he remembered them, though. They’re a sort of off-center memory just on the edges of his mind that he can’t quite make out.

All he knows is that he’s made a mistake.

Obi-Wan is still hurt. There is a cast on his leg and bacta patches across his body for _Ka’ra_ ’s sake! And that’s only counting the physical injuries. There’s no telling exactly what sort of psychological damage the Kadavo ordeal had caused him.

Rex shouldn’t have said anything. He shouldn’t have dragged the man into this. Sure, he’d been scared — ~~he’s still scared~~ — but that doesn’t mean he needed to pull anyone else into his own problems. This is something a lot of _vode_ feel and deal with. They don’t go crying to their generals when something is wrong.

Of course, most of them can’t, so that isn’t a fair conclusion. Rex is lucky to be able to talk to his generals the way that he can. Even with Kenobi’s new group therapy plan and all, there are only so many Jedi, and a lot more of the clones. Rex can only come to them because of his rank, and how closely he works with Skywalker and Tano.

He shouldn’t take advantage of these things… _Haran_ , he shouldn’t even be feeling this way. Honestly, Rex has been through far worse than Kadavo. Kamino itself was worse. He has no room to complain and no right to do so. He shouldn’t even _want_ to die. For clones, it’s just their reality. To them, it’s inevitable. And for most, death is cruel and painful and unfair. Rex’s life could be so much worse. And yet, against all odds, it’s not.

He has Cody, his closest _vod_ and friend. He has Tano, the little Jedi-in-training who’s like a little sister to him. He has Skywalker, who’s almost like an annoying, though still loving, older brother. Fives, Kix, Jesse. Torrent Company. Obi-Wan.

No, Rex is far from the worst-off clone in the GAR. He has no reason nor right to feel the way he does…

That doesn’t stop the thoughts from coming.

He’s already regretting telling Obi-Wan anything, especially with the impending 72 hour watch. Technically, it would have started already. The moment Appo (for, surely, that’s who Obi-Wan would have sent the notice to) received notification, the clock would have started. It wouldn’t run out of course, until 72 hours from the following morning.

And honestly… the suicide watches aren’t new, nor are they unheard of. It’s not all that out of the ordinary for a _vod_ to be placed on one. There’s usually one or two every month or so. The generals don’t know about that, but that’s okay. That’s how it’s supposed to be. Well… with the exception of Obi-Wan, he supposes. By now, Obi-Wan would (and obviously does) know all about them. Most contingents keep this sort of information on the downlow from their generals, both to protect themselves and to protect the Jedi.

The Jedi are stretched so thin as it is, if they were to fully realize this was such an ongoing problem… Well, they’d all sort of silently agreed that it wouldn’t help matters all that much. And in some battalions, that sort of information in the wrong hands could get a brother killed anyway. It’s not worth it to risk that getting out.

But here Rex is, wide awake even though it’s nearing on morning now, kicking himself because he’s just fucked up majorly bad. Obi-Wan is still asleep next to him, an arm thrown over Rex’s middle almost as reassurance that he’s still there. Rex supposes that’s fair. He had just told the man that he wants to die not three hours ago. And, well… it’s not like those feelings have left, no matter how little Rex has a right to them.

There’s a churning in his stomach, making him feel utterly sick. Restless energy sparks through his limbs like static, screaming at him that it’s time to get up. It’s time to do something. Something — _anything_. There’s something he’s late for, surely, though he can’t figure out what it is. It’s the middle of the night cycle. There’s literally nothing for him to be doing but sleeping, though at this point, that’s obviously out of the question.

Why did he send that message to Obi-Wan? It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now he’s realized his mistake. He woke the man up when he didn’t have to, all but forced him to come up to the _Resolute_ just to check in with him because Rex was having a shitty night. They happen. It’s fine.

Logically, he knows it’s not fine. By all accounts, Rex is fully, logically aware that something is wrong, and that both he and Obi-Wan have made the correct decisions to put everyone on the safest possible path. But it’s hard to get his Captain Brain to come back online for some reason, and isn’t that just the kicker? He’s lying there in bed, nearly so sick he thinks he might throw up all that late meal he hadn’t eaten, and Rex can only blame himself.

He really should have thought better about his actions before going through with them. He has no right to inconvenience Obi-Wan this way. The Jedi is still on his own bedrest. He shouldn’t be out of the Temple, let alone on a flagship about to head off towards another skirmish that could put him in danger. Not to mention with a legion he doesn’t even personally _lead_. ~~Yes, General Kenobi is technically the highest ranking officer that the 501st reports to, but Obi-Wan does not generally personally lead them himself. They have Skywalker and Tano for that.~~

And all of this still isn’t even touching base on the fact that Obi-Wan has better things to be doing than helping Rex with his personal issues. He said it himself that Rex should talk to someone! And specifically, he’d said Rex should talk to Cody, or Fives. He said that he could talk to him, too, but the other examples were still there. The point was for Rex to talk to one of the _vode_ , not Obi-Wan.

Which makes sense. Obi-Wan can’t personally be emotionally available for every fragile clone who feels bad. He can’t drop everything at a moment’s notice just because Rex needs him.

And Rex had forced him to…

He’s going to be sick. Right now.

Rex doesn’t have time to extricate himself from Obi-Wan’s hold gently enough to not wake up the man. The urgency has him all but throwing himself off the bunk, nearly dumping himself onto the floor in his rush towards the ‘fresher. Of course, Obi-Wan is awake the second Rex jerks away, but that doesn’t matter, but Rex _really_ doesn’t feel like cleaning his own sick up off the floor.

He makes it to the toilet just in time.

Rex has never been more glad than he is in that moment that Anakin insisted on placing him in a private room near himself and Ahsoka. It provided him with a refresher all his own, with no prying eyes.

None but Obi-Wan’s, anyway.

He’s vaguely aware of Obi-Wan following him in. He might have said something, but Rex can’t hear him. He can’t focus. A warm, gentle hand rests on his back, soothing careful circles into his exposed skin as he heaves into the bowl. For all that he hasn’t eaten much recently, it seems to take forever before he’s done choking and coughing and spitting up bile.

The ‘fresher is blurry and sort of fuzzy around the edges for several minutes as Rex tries to calm down — gasping at the air like a fish out of water. There’s a pain in his stomach that always follows throwing up, but it’s not the same sort of urgent, twisting nausea that had sent him in here in the first place. He doesn’t even realize at first that he’d slumped bonelessly against Obi-Wan, sweating and shaking and feeling all around miserable.

Several minutes pass before the man says anything.

“Rex…” Obi-Wan says, low and unobtrusive. “I think we should get you to the medbay… Let someone look you over.”

Rex shakes his head, swallowing against the stale, sour taste in his mouth.

A hand comes up to rest on the back of his head. Fingers scratch gently across the fuzz of his short buzzcut.

“I know I phrased that as a suggestion, but it wasn’t really a request, love. You might be legitimately sick, and I’d feel better if Kix or Coric took a look at you.”

And— yeah, okay. That makes sense. Of the two of them, Rex certainly isn’t the one calling the shots right now, and he won’t be for the foreseeable future. At least not for the next three days or so.

He swallows again and sucks in another breath before nodding. They don’t move right away, which Rex definitely counts as a blessing, because he’s not sure he could stand yet, even if he wanted to.

“We’ll go when you’re ready,” Obi-Wan tells him. Then he quiets, and leaves it up to Rex to make that decision on his own. He can’t decide if that’s a good thing or entirely unhelpful.

Nevertheless, Rex shifts after a minute or two, starting to push himself up onto his feet. Obi-Wan stands first, and despite his ankle, helps Rex up too. The captain finds himself shaky and a little unsteady on his feet. He flushes the toilet and turns to wash his hands quietly and rinse out his mouth before they fully leave the refresher and return to the main living quarters.

“Do you want to go now, or wait for a moment?” the Jedi asks, semi-supporting Rex as they stand near the middle of the room.

That’s hardly even a question though. If Rex is already standing, he’d rather get a trip to the medbay out of the way now, lest he lay down on his bunk again and decide it’s not really all that worth it to move until at least 0800.

“Now,” he mumbles. His throat burns with the word.

Obi-Wan nods. “You might want the top half to your blacks, then. Can’t imagine it’s all that comfortable to walk around the ship in not much but your skin.”

There’s an uptilt to the corner of his mouth as he speaks, watching Rex and gauging his reaction. Not wanting to disappoint, Rex puts on a little half smile, too. He has a point, and the joke is semi-appreciated, even if he’s convinced he’s wasting Obi-Wan’s time.

As Rex dresses himself, at least enough to be fully in his blacks, Obi-Wan straightens his own hastily thrown-on clothing and rights himself on his crutches.

“Actually following medic’s orders, are you?” Rex asks, aiming for a teasing tone. It mostly works, he thinks, when Obi-Wan smirks at him playfully.

“I’m not as bad as you all make me out to be, you know,” he returns in kind. Rex rolls his eyes good naturedly and ignores how tired the small interaction makes him.

Obi-Wan is not tiring. Keeping up the facade is tiring. It’s dumb, and Rex should know to either suck it up or not play this game at all, but here they are. He sighs quietly to himself, passing it off as a deeper than normal breath.

Once dressed and ready enough to leave the room, Obi-Wan leads them out into the corridor.

It’s not late enough in the morning yet for anyone but the night cycle shift to be up still, so they hardly run into anyone. They’re technically on leave until General Skywalker and Commander Tano return to the ship in a few hours and they head off on their assignment. One, Rex is starting to realize now that the nausea is mostly gone and the logical reasoning has started to return, he will not be participating in. The thought is both a relief and slightly upsetting.

What is he expected to do with three days worth of sitting around, being watched while people make sure he doesn’t hurt himself?

They go at a fairly slow pace, set by Obi-Wan. On his crutches, he can really only go so fast, and they’re not in a huge hurry. Rex suspects, though, that Obi-Wan might also be keeping his pace slow on purpose, so that Rex can walk at a gentle rate. Gratefulness warms the center of his chest two seconds before guilt floods him, extinguishing the little light. It staggers his steps for just a second, setting him off-balance before he’s able to right himself again.

Frustration chases away the guilt. Mostly.

This is getting ridiculous, and it’s hardly even started.

Obi-Wan brushes their shoulders together gently as they continue walking. The motion could almost have been an accident if it wasn’t for how similar it was to the way Rex does the same thing to Cody. He wonders for just a brief second if Cody does that with Obi-Wan, too. It wouldn’t surprise him. There’s something going on between them, after all. He can see it.

Neither of them say anything though, and for that, Rex is truly grateful. Obi-Wan knows the art of discretion, something his former padawan had clearly never picked up. He’s well aware that the public setting of the hallway isn’t the place to talk about Rex’s rolling, conflicted emotions.

The medbay doors appear in front of them before Rex even realized they’d made it there already.

The doors open for them easily, allowing them in and displaying the _Resolute_ ’s pristine medical center.

One of their shinier medics greets them almost as soon as they’re inside. The man pauses and salutes once he’s realized who it is standing in front of him.

“General Kenobi, Captain Rex,” he acknowledges respectfully.

Obi-Wan takes one hand off his crutch to wave away the man’s salute. “At ease,” he tells the medic.

The man relaxes easily and levels them both a look, scanning them up and down. His gaze catches on Obi-Wan more so than it does Rex, but that’s to be expected. Rex isn’t the one on crutches. Though, he can’t say he’s unhappy about it.

“How can I help you, sirs?”

“Are Kix or Coric on duty?” Obi-Wan asks, sounding casual. “We need to speak with one of them.”

Rex appreciates the lack of mention of his own… situation.

The shiny medic nods and points them off towards the mostly private office at the back of the medbay.

“Coric’s back there — took the nightshift. I don’t think Kix is due in here for a few hours at least.”

Obi-Wan smiles and nods his thanks at the man.

“Thank you…?”

“Storm, sir.”

“Thank you, Storm.”

Then Obi-Wan leads Rex through the space, making their way toward the office. The door is unlocked and the window unshielded, so Rex knew Coric wasn’t working on anything particularly sensitive. Obi-Wan stops in front of it and knocks lightly.

The head medic’s face appears in the window a split second before the door swishes open.

“General, Captain,” he greets them. There’s a look in his eyes when he looks them both over that says he absolutely knows all about Kadavo, _and_ Rex’s duty status at the moment. It makes the back of Rex’s neck tingle and he wishes he were still back in his quarters, but it’s not surprising. The medics are always the second to know about these things, if they’re not the ones to put the notice in in the first place. It stands to reason that Coric would be aware of this, whether Rex would have liked him to or not.

“What can I do for you?”

Obi-Wan is the one to answer again, leaving Rex feeling strangely like a child.

“Can we speak privately?”

Coric frowns. “In the office, or would you rather an exam room?”

“Exam room would be best.”

Rex finds himself being herded, mostly not suspiciously, off to a private exam room. The door is shut and locked behind Coric, who is the last one in.

“Captain, on the table,” the medic instructs. Rex hoists himself up without question.

“You hurt?”

Rex shakes his head.

“What happened?”

“Got sick.”

“That all?”

Rex nods. Coric turns a curious eye on Obi-Wan, one eyebrows lifted as if to ask what they’re doing in his medbay. Or perhaps he was asking if Rex was telling the truth. That could also be a possibility.

Obi-Wan just shrugs. “I woke up when he made a break for the ‘fresher. That’s really all I know. He’s not hurt, I just want to make sure he doesn’t have an actual stomach bug or something. Illnesses of that sort really aren’t my area of expertise.”

Coric rolls his eyes. “You’ve been sick enough in the past, one would think you’d be able to tell.”

The general gives him a surprised and slightly betrayed look.

“How do you know that?” he demands.

Coric shrugs, starting to take out supplies and putting on a pair of disposable gloves.

“You’re one of my generals whom I may need to provide medical assistance to at some point. Of course I have your medical information. I’m almost sure every head medic in at least the 7th Sky Corps has access to it.”

Obi-Wan frowns briefly, clearly thinking a few things over. It makes Rex chuckle a little.

“Oh, come on, General,” Rex teases lightly. “You should know how efficient our medical teams are, by now.”

“That’s right,” Coric agrees, focusing his full attention on Rex. “Now, answer my questions and let me look you over.”

Rex can’t find it in himself to argue.

*

They were back in Rex’s quarters before the night cycle was over. Unsurprisingly, Rex isn’t actually sick, it had just been a physical reaction of the severe anxiety-inducing thoughts that had been plaguing him for hours. It had been a battle and a half to get Rex to actually _admit_ that, but it happened. Coric leveled him with a sympathetic, understanding look, and declared that he was physically in alright shape.

Of course, the medic had also informed him that he’s slightly underweight and could be in danger of beginning to lose muscle mass if he doesn’t start eating better soon. So Rex and Obi-Wan are now under strict orders to make an appearance at the morning meal in a couple hours, or else there would be hell to pay. Not that Rex really had a choice anyway. Eating during meal times was a firm stipulation of his suicide watch.

The benefit of this would be having Obi-Wan with him and getting the man to eat as well. Maybe it isn’t a real problem in the long run, but the thought makes Rex feel a little better, so he’ll let himself keep this one thing.

Until then, though, there’s still time before first meal starts, and Rex is almost sure neither of them will be getting back to sleep, no matter how much they might want to. Personally, he’s exhausted. Obi-Wan must be, too, and Rex feels bad for having woken him up.

Before the guilt can start to spiral too far, the familiar, cool presence of his general brushes close again. A shiver runs straight down Rex’s spine. Obi-Wan leans into him, but not physically. It’s a strange experience — walking down the corridor and feeling like he has the general pressed close against his side when in fact, they aren’t even touching.

Rex almost feels like Obi-Wan was trying to impress some thought on him, but it wasn’t really coming across. It probably isn’t too important, and could at least wait for them to get back to the privacy of Rex’s quarters.

He wonders if Cody experiences this same thing with Obi-Wan, and if it leaves him as confused yet relaxed as it does Rex. He’ll ask the next time he sees him.

A thought occurs to him as they step back inside his quarters.

“Obi-Wan, are you even prepared to leave with us on an assignment? Even if we’ll be on the ship?”

Realization sparks across the Jedi Master’s face.

“Oh. Yes, that’s what I had forgotten. Thank you for reminding me, Rex.” He allows Rex to herd him onto the bed and gives over his crutches. Rex sets them aside and watches at the general punches in a familiar code on his communicator.

The call only beeps a couple of times before General Skywalker answers.

 _”Master?”_ the young knight answers, sounding only a little bit like he’d just woken up. Rex can tell he’s just woken up. _”What’s going on? Nothing’s gone wrong, right?”_

Guilt sweeps through him, chilling a pit in his stomach until it freezes like ice. Oh, something had gone wrong. And now the general and commander will be left without their right hand man.

_’You should have thought about them before you got yourself stuck on suicide watch.’_

Obi-Wan shoots him a pointed look, as if he knows exactly what just ran through Rex’s mind. And… yeah, he very well might. Or, probably does. Rex bites the inside of his cheek and wills the guilt away with a deliberate breath. It doesn’t help.

“Actually, I’ll need to talk to you about that once I see you,” Obi-Wan replies smoothly. Only a hint of hesitation colors his tone and gives away that anything might be amiss.

_”That’ll be a while, though, won’t it? We’re heading out soon.”_

“I’ll explain more later, but I’m on the _Resolute_. I came up here in rather a hurry, and I’m afraid I didn’t bring… _anything_ with me. Would you mind terribly grabbing the go-bag from my room? There are only a couple things not in there, and I can type out a message for you, detailing where they are.”

_”Of course I can, Master. Ahsoka and I will be there just after first meal, I think. Can you survive until then?”_

Obi-Wan smiles and huffs a chuckle through his nose.

“I will manage, Anakin, thank you.”

Rex tunes out a little bit then as the master and padawan said their goodbyes. He has yet to sit back down on the bed. He doesn’t know why.

“Rex,” Obi-Wan calls for him, snapping him back out of his distraction. “Come lay back down. You need the rest.”

He goes willingly, and lays back down in the bunk, allowing Obi-Wan to all but tuck him in under the too-thin blanket. After all, Rex has always tried to be a good soldier. Following orders is something he can do.

The Jedi doesn’t lay back down with him though, and it sets him immediately on edge. Obi-Wan smiles down at him easily.

“I’ll admit my ankle is aching a little bit,” he says. “The pain medication Healer Che gave me is still in my room in the Temple. I’ll tell Anakin where it is and take a dose later. But for now I think I will just sit and keep watch. Rest now. You’re safe.”

Rex doesn’t even think about it when he closes his eyes and lets himself fall into sleep. He hadn’t realized he was so tired until now. There could have been a touch of Force suggestion in the general’s tone, but Rex doubts it. Very rarely does Obi-Wan use Force suggestion on them without permission. Which is to say, Rex has never heard of him doing so, and after all the things he’s seen and heard about the 212th’s group therapy, he thinks it’s unlikely he ever will.

Obi-Wan is safe — both for himself and for the rest of the _vode_. Resting while he keeps watch is one of the easiest things in the galaxy.

*

Fives joins them at first meal. He acts nonchalant enough, though Rex is sure he knows about the watch by now. Being one of his ARCs, Fives would hear about that particular bit of news easily enough.

Technically, the clones don’t tend to gossip about these sorts of things. If it spreads too much, it runs the risk of finding its way into the wrong ears. However, it still tends to be the sort of thing people just _know_ , having heard about it from someone. Knowing what’s going on is one thing. Actively gossiping about it and spreading it around is something else entirely.

Doesn’t mean that Rex doesn’t feel shame burning a hopefully unnoticed red flush into his cheeks when Fives gives him a knowing look.

“Morning, Captain. General,” Fives greets, plopping down with his tray. “Didn’t expect for you to be coming with us, General Kenobi.”

For his part, Obi-Wan responds good naturedly, as if nothing is wrong. He finishes the bite of food he’d been chewing and smiles at Fives.

“Hadn’t planned to,” he admits. “But I think I am more needed here than in the Temple.”

Rex feels a phantom squeeze to his knee.

Fives nods and takes a bite of his own food. “I think you’re right, sir.”

Rex would glare at him if he thought it would do any good. He doesn’t think that, though, so he refrains. Besides, it’s not like either of them are wrong, and he’s grateful to both of them. Rex just knows how to be stubborn. (He thinks he gets it from Cody.)

“What about you, Rex?”

That pulls him back out of his thoughts. He finds both Fives and Obi-Wan looking at him expectantly, and he realizes he has no idea what was just said.

“What?” he asks.

“Did you sleep well?” Fives asks again. “Though I would assume not from your lack of attention.”

Accurate.

“No, no,” Rex lies. “I slept alright. Not the worst night of sleep ever.”

Not inaccurate.

Fives doesn’t verbally respond, but his expression says it all. He doesn’t believe a single word Rex just said. Which is totally unfair, if you ask Rex. Fives knows they’ve both had worse nights than the one he just had. Much worse.

~~The night after Echo comes to mind…~~

Rex shakes that thought away.

He searches quickly for any change in topic.

“So, Fives,” he starts, sounding not right even to his own ears. “Ready for the campaign?”

He lets himself fall into the easy conversation of pre-mission preparedness. It’s not like he really needs to put much effort into something so second nature.

*

Cody waits until first meal is over before he sends a ping Obi-Wan’s way. He figures that should be plenty of time for the both of them to be up and moving for the day. After all, Cody is well familiar with 72 hour watches. Sometimes the brother in question and their companion have late starts to their days. And they’ll both still have had to eat. He didn’t want to interrupt them.

He retreats to his quarters, sure in the fact that the battalion can get on without him for a little while, to make the call.

Obi-Wan answers within a moment, punctual as always.

 _”Good morning, my dear,”_ his partner greets with a soft smile the moment his hologram comes to life. _”How was the mission?”_

Cody smiles, but gives the man a dubious look.

“It was successful. Seems as though I should be asking _you_ that, though.” Obi-Wan has the grace to look a little sheepish. “Heard the four of you got captured. Are you alright?”

Then— well, the Jedi’s expression says it all.

 _”We’re all only a little banged up,”_ he says, noncommittally. Cody doesn’t doubt that. If anyone of them had been seriously injured, he would have heard about it by now. _”Just a little… shaken up, I think.”_ Obi-Wan glances to the side quickly, presumably trading a look with Rex.

Cody sighs. “I know what happened. Or, I heard, at least. Appo sent me the form and a note.”

He watches as Obi-Wan visibly slumps. If that wasn’t telling, Cody doesn’t know what is. He can tell the reaction is more based in relief than anything else. Obi-Wan wouldn’t have expected for Cody _not_ to find out. Perhaps it’s just that Obi-Wan doesn’t have to bring it up himself, and break the news to Cody.

 _”Put it on the table,”_ Rex’s voice says from out of view.

The angle changes slightly as Obi-Wan moves and sets the device down. Then Rex’s figure appears next to the Jedi’s, so close they’re nearly touching. The sight of them both does things to Cody’s heart.

 _Hey,_ vod _,”_ Rex says, trying for a smile. Cody doesn’t think the look works out, but he doesn’t say anything about it.

“Hello there,” Cody offers. It gets a more honest grin out of the both of them, so it’s a win. “Rough night?”

Rex shrugs. _“A little.”_

Cody nods solemnly. “It happens. We all struggle sometimes, and there is nothing wrong with asking for help. In fact, there’s strength in it.”

Obi-Wan puts a hand to his chin and nods along, all seriousness and quiet understanding. _”Sometimes it is harder to accept help than it is to offer it,”_ he says.

Rex looks between them both, but doesn’t say anything.

Cody lets that topic drop, and he can almost see it as Obi-Wan follows his lead.

“So, General, I hear you will be spending some time with the 501st,” he says with a smirk.

Obi-Wan grins teasingly. _“Yes, a little bit of time. It will give me an opportunity to help Anakin and Ahsoka work out a functioning therapy schedule for the legion.”_

Cody whistles, letting himself slump into his chair dramatically.

“I don’t envy you that job, General. The 501st is massive. And the vast majority of them are, well…”

 _”Batshit crazy…”_ Rex muttered under his breath.

Cody nodded once. “Yeah, that.”

Obi-Wan full on laughed. The sound of it brought a grin to Cody’s own face.

 _”Well, my dear, the 501st may be large, but the 3rd Systems Army is bigger. And guess who will be helping me implement these changes for all of them.”_ The general’s expression was far too smug for Cody’s tastes. Of course, Cody didn’t have time to think about that. He felt himself pale slightly, knowing exactly who Obi-Wan was talking about.

Rex snorted, covering his mouth with a hand and stifling his laughter for a moment.

“It’s me, isn’t it?”

Obi-Wan dipped his head and smiled, still smug. _”Got it in one.”_

Yeah… Of course.

Oh well. There are worse things than implementing GAR-wide systematic changes for just over five million men. (Because Cody has no delusions that Obi-Wan would stop at the 3rd Systems army. He plans to make these changes for the entirety of the GAR.)

 _”Ha,”_ Rex laughed.

Cody made a face at him. Rex made a face back.

That’s good. Getting Rex to play along with him and giggle a little is something Cody always likes to do. Now more than ever, Cody thinks it’s important. Of course, if Rex is faking, that doesn’t get them anywhere. Honestly, it would be more of a setback than anything else.

But Cody’s always been good at reading Rex. He clearly isn’t feeling great, but the playful attitude is real.

It’s a relief, and it makes Cody smile.

“I’ll be keeping that in mind, then,” he tells Obi-Wan. Then he sobers a little. “On a more serious note, both of you stay safe. I know you won’t be in the thick of things, but still. Watch each other’s backs.”

They both share a small look together, and Cody suddenly wonders exactly what they experienced together. He knew some natborns might expect him to feel jealous over the new closeness between one of his closest brothers and his partner, but… Well, they’re natborns. Clones grow up sharing pretty much everything. Most of them don’t get very jealous very easily. Or, perhaps that’s just Cody.

~~And perhaps it’s something else…~~

Either way, he can tell his sentiment needn’t have been voiced at all. They have each other, no matter what the galaxy might throw at them.

 _”We will, love. Try not to worry too much,”_ Obi-Wan promises.

Cody nods and smiles. “I’ll do my best.” Then he sighs and shifts, as though getting ready to stand. He has things to do, though he doesn’t want to. He wishes he could stay on the call all day with them. “Well, I hate to say it, but the job of a marshal commander is never done, especially when I’m missing my general. Regrettably, I have to go.”

_”Okay. We won’t hold you up, then. Good luck._

“I’ll see you in a few days. Love you both.”

 _”Love you too,_ vod _.”_

_”We’ll talk later, Cody.”_

They smile at him again and he returns the expression. Then the call cuts out and the hologram goes dark. Cody tries not to sigh again, and then promptly fails. He scrubs a hand over his face.

 _Ka’ra_ , but he’s worried about them. Both of them. Sure, they didn’t look too worse for wear, but he could only see them from the chest up. There’s no telling what was lurking beneath the image and hiding beneath their clothes. Rex especially…

Well, he’ll message Obi-Wan later and ask for details on that front. But until then, all he can do is take care of himself and his troops.

He’ll just have to make it the next few days until he can see them with his own two eyes. They’ll be alright — all of them.

Hopefully.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed it! I was having issues getting my attention span to work with me and get all the tags I needed. If you saw anything that should be tagged or that you would like tagged, let me know and I will add it. Thanks for reading!
> 
> Also! I have a blog for this series. You can [find it here](https://obiwanthetherapistkenobi.tumblr.com/) if you'd like to drop in and send an ask or just see what's going on. And, if you're interested in hanging out and just talking or anything, I have a discord server where we talk about writing and fics and stuff. [This is the invite link.](https://discord.gg/ZNhmHqQHeH) Come say hi!


End file.
